Defenders of Empire?

Hey everyone, bit of an abstract question I know, but I'm just curious about the 'defenders of empire' tag often applied to the soldiery. Was there an increased and general expectation that the private soldier would personally embrace the principles of imperial expansion? After all, until the Battle of Isandlwana, very few people seem to have been aware of events in Zululand!

I expect every soldier was expected to embrace the principles of imperial expansion. Whether or not they did would have to be down to the individual soldier.
Some idea of the British 'imperial development across the globe' under Victoria can be judged from reading a list of the 'small colonial wars' (as they have euphemistically been called) undertaken during Victoria's reign:


Anti-colonial revolt in Canada, 1837
Capture of Aden, 1838
First Afghan War, 1838-42
Against Boers, South Africa, 1838-48
Opium Wars in China, 1839-42
War in the Levant, 1840
War in Afghanistan, 1842
Conquest of Sind, India, 1843
Gwalior War, India, 1843
First Sikh War, India, 1845-6
Against Native Africans, South Africa, 1846-52
North-West Frontier of India, 1847-54
Second Sikh War, India, 1848-9
Second Burmese War, 1852
Eureka Stockade, Australia, 1854
War with Persia, 1856-7
North-West Frontier of India, 1858-67
Storming of the Taku Forts, China, 1859-60
Maori Wars, New Zealand, 1861-4
Operations in Sikkim, India, 1861
Ambela Expedition, 1863
Yokohama, Japan, 1864-5
Bhutan Expedition, 1865
Expedition to Abyssinia, 1868
Red River Expedition, Canada, 1870
Ashanti War, West Africa, 1874
Expedition to Perak, Malaya, 1875-6
Galekas & Gaikas war, Cape Colony, 1877
North-West Frontier, India, 1878-9
Second Afghan War, 1878
Third Afghan War, 1879
Zulu War, 1879
North-West Frontier of India, 1880-4
Transvaal Revolt or First Boer War, 1880-1
Bombardment of Alexandria, 1882
Expedition to the Sudan, 1884-5
Third Burmese War, 1885
Suakin Expedition, Sudan, 1885
End of the Nile Campaign, 1885
North-West Frontier of India, 1888-92
Minor Operations in India, 1888-94
Siege & Relief of Chitral, India, 1895
Mashonaland Rising, East Africa, 1896
Re-Conquest of Egypt, 1896-8
Tirah Expeditionary Force, India, 1897-8
North-West Frontier of India, 1897-8
Boxer Rising, China, 1900-1

And it still took them untill the 1960's to win the World Cup.

What a day that was.

Very enjoyable book

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